A Decade of Help and Goodwill: Foreigners Is Celebrating 10 Years

In 2019, Foreigners is celebrating its 10 year anniversary! 10 years of helping expats and international students feel at home in the Czech Republic and also dealing with all the obstacles that might come up in the uneasy lives of people dealing with relocation. 10 years of taking care of your accommodations and solving problems related to your flats. 10 years of providing various types of services like visas, employee cards, immigration packages, translations, etc. What has changed during the past decade? What has remained the same? Find out below!

It all started with a strong desire of two Czech students, Andrea and Vojta, to make a difference in this world. Their main goal was to help, to be there for people, to understand what it’s like to be a foreigner in the Czech Republic. To help expats and foreign students, who were not given the same terms in flat rental as locals. Andrea and Vojta were leading a student organization (ESN – Erasmus Study Network) and in 2009, in the small town of Hradec Králové, with loads of determination and a little luck, they set up their own agency with the mission to help foreigners feel at home in our country. And so the journey began.

Two Czech students Vojta and Andrea as a part of ESN organisation

Three years later Foreigners started branching out. New offices popped up in Brno, Prague, and Pilsen – and Brno became the headquarters. In 2013, directives and regulations were established to ensure the smooth functioning of the young company. In 2014, Foreigners took another important step: the company launched a project called CzechUniversities. The main idea was, of course, to help! Foreign students often need assistance with admission process, which is why Vojta came up with the idea of providing everything a student from abroad might need.

Over the next five years, many projects were started and successfully completed: Foreigners branches in Ostrava and Olomouc; a special GALA Night, an international evening full of music and dancing. And also Domeq, cutting-edge accommodation in Brno for expats and students, which is built by CTP and operated by Foreigners. All of these project are equally important and beneficial for expats: either in the sense of satisfying all their needs or simply entertaining them and making them feel comfortable in the Czech Republic. The Foreigners team also deserves a special mention: at the beginning there were only two people and now the team consists of more than 40 team members.

Vojta and Andrea themselves have most interesting history: at the beginning of Foreigners’ history, they were a couple and nearly got married, but then they decided to split up. However, this fact didn’t get in the way of the company’s growth: they remained business partners; Andrea comes up with new ideas and leads the whole team and Vojta is the pillar for finance, strategy and systems. Watch the video to find out more about these two brilliant leaders.

Foreigners was placed among the top 10 companies in Český Goodwill in 2018

Here is what Vojta and Andrea would like to say about their 10 year journey as the founders of Foreigners:

Within ten years we transformed from a small startup into a qualified company with a team of skilled professionals and lots of clients and partners among international companies. We are able to maintain good spirits and give our clients the best service possible. – Vojtěch Stehno, CFO.

Many things have changed since the time when we were a couple and lived in our Hradec Králové office, through our breakup and moving to different Czech cities, to the present when we have a central team and both live in Brno. Both of us are married to other partners, the agency operates independently, each big office has its own executive director and we both have time for our other projects and further development of our business. 10 years ago we couldn’t even dream of it! – Andrea Tkačuková, CEO.

Vojta and Andrea used to be a couple and after a break-up they remained business partners

There are three mottos we believe in and follow every day at Foreigners:

  • Understand different. Over the past years we have gained valuable experience by interacting with many people from all over the world. Each of them is unique and needs an individual approach. Our purpose is to increase mutual understanding.
  • Life full of possibilities. The more you know, the further you can reach. Together with our clients we build a widespread network of international contacts, friendships and experience.
  • Sweet home, sweeter abroad. Living abroad can be challenging and difficult: you can’t always handle everything life throws your way. Our aim is to focus you on the positive and help you get the best experience out of your stay in the Czech Republic.

A little about our achievements:

We sincerely believe that we still have a lot of successful years ahead of us. Inspired by our clients, constantly working on our personal development, we are making our future now. We will walk the roads that have never been walked before.

Together we move the world forward.

In November 2019, there’s going to be a big celebration of our 10 year anniversary and everyone is invited! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on news.

Karyna Babkova

Hello, dear readers! I am a Ukrainian student, currently studying for a Master's degree in Masaryk University and I am deeply honoured to have a chance to share with you some important and interesting information about living in Brno. Hopefully, you will find my articles useful and entertaining xx

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